Cancelled, no compensation

We have paid in full for a river cruise and stay in August. We have been informed the cruise is overbooked and have been offered a lower grade with a refund which is not even as much as the difference in grades!

We have refused as it is a lower deck on a river cruise which we would never book.

The Travel Agent are refusing to give compensation.

Surely they should offer at least the same or better or a full refund with compensation.

Anyone else experienced this?

I would post this on the River Cruise Board.

Also be sure to include the River Cruise line you are booked with.

Keith

You might want to post on the River boat cruise board here with some specifics. See if you can find others in (sorry) your boat.

The cruise line is canceling, correct? Why would the TA give compensation?

The cruise line is canceling, correct? Why would the TA give compensation?

From what the OP is saying, the cruise line isn't cancelling their cruise. They are moving them to a different cabin, apparently in a lower grade of cabins.

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From what the OP is saying, the cruise line isn't cancelling their cruise. They are moving them to a different cabin, apparently in a lower grade of cabins.

 

 

 

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But it is still the line, and not the agent, changing the deal isn't it? So the question remains: Why would the TA give compensation?

We have paid in full for a river cruise and stay in August. We have been informed the cruise is overbooked and have been offered a lower grade with a REFUND which is not even as much as the difference in grades!

We have refused as it is a lower deck on a river cruise which we would never book.

The Travel Agent are refusing to give compensation.

Surely they should offer at least the same or better or a full refund with compensation.

Anyone else experienced this?

Lower grade with a Refund??

You need to explain about this a bit more?

Only the cruise line can give you compensation not your TA.

Did you book a guarantee?

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To clarify it is the Agent who has overbooked and they could only offer a lower grade with a money adjustment that was not even the equivalent of the difference between the grade booked and the lower offered one.

They have now offered a refund and a £200 future cruise credit.

This is not acceptable.

I think the issue here is that the OP is obviously in the UK, where consumer and booking rules are somewhat different then what we have here in the USA. In the US this would not likely be an issue, since folks generally deal directly with cruise lines (either through the line itself, or through cruise/travel agencies that are simply go-betweens). When we have an overbooking situation here, it is nearly always because of the cruise line and the travel agents are as much a victim as the customer.

Hank

To clarify it is the Agent who has overbooked and they could only offer a lower grade with a money adjustment that was not even the equivalent of the difference between the grade booked and the lower offered one.

 

They have now offered a refund and a £200 future cruise credit.

 

This is not acceptable.

What's the problem? You said you were "offered" a change and you refused it. So, just stick with the original cabin selection.

I don't get this. How does an agent overbook? Doesn't overbook mean that there are no cabins left? If that's the case, how can they offer another, albeit inferior, cabin if the boat is overbooked?

I don't get this. How does an agent overbook? Doesn't overbook mean that there are no cabins left? If that's the case, how can they offer another, albeit inferior, cabin if the boat is overbooked?

Sometimes an agency has a number of cabins booked or held for them with the cruise line. They have different numbers of cabins in different categories. So the agent may have 10 of one category but books people for more than 10 and are unable to get any more of this category from the cruise line because they are sold out. Then all the agency has to offer is a lower category cabin.

To clarify it is the Agent who has overbooked and they could only offer a lower grade with a money adjustment that was not even the equivalent of the difference between the grade booked and the lower offered one.

They have now offered a refund and a £200 future cruise credit.

This is not acceptable.

If you do not want the other space, and also find that a refund (presumably in full) plus a 200 GBP credit is unacceptable, why not get back to the agent and let them know what would be acceptable - other than insisting upon their adding more cabins, which the cruise line might find unacceptable?

Without mentioning river cruise lines, this happened to us a few years ago, too. They offered us the following sailing and a $100 back, ornot go at all and get a full refund. We took the later sailing, but I said, "I would expect a nice upgrade, as well, as we booked a LONG time ago and why aren't folks who booked more recently being asked to change/cancel?" Nothing was said to me at the time, but when new documents arrived, we got a substantial upgrade (from the 2nd lowest, to the highest), so that coupled with the $100 pp refund...we were satisfied. This line is thier own agent and you can't book them through a TA, so we had no TA to deal with. On another note....I would not expect the TA to offer anything other than to get the cruisellne to sweeten their offer.

Wait a minute....you said....

Surely they should offer at least the same or better or a full refund with compensation.

and now you are saying this....

They have now offered a refund and a £200 future cruise credit.

This is not acceptable.

How do you reconcile the two?

To clarify it is the Agent who has overbooked and they could only offer a lower grade with a money adjustment that was not even the equivalent of the difference between the grade booked and the lower offered one.

They have now offered a refund and a £200 future cruise credit.

This is not acceptable.

They are offering you all your money back. Unless there are no other options for cruising at that time, what is your problem? Take your money and book elsewhere.

DON

Sometimes an agency has a number of cabins booked or held for them with the cruise line. They have different numbers of cabins in different categories. So the agent may have 10 of one category but books people for more than 10 and are unable to get any more of this category from the cruise line because they are sold out. Then all the agency has to offer is a lower category cabin.

I suspect that is indeed what has happened here. But however disappointing and annoying it is, I doubt that the OP is legally entitled to anything other than a full refund.

Did you insure? iS IT POSSIBLE THEY MAY COVER?

Cover what? There's no financial loss for insurance to cover - she has been offered a full refund.

They offered you a full refund a future credit and you still are not happy? how much more do you want? Are you expecting a full refund and a free cruise? Because that is the impression I am getting or a full refund and half off or something and that simply is just not going to happen. Yes you were inconvenienced but you are made whole with the refund. Now take the credit and go book another cruise with another agent if you need to.

Cover what? There's no financial loss for insurance to cover - she has been offered a full refund.

It all depends upon what the meaning of "acceptable" is.

go via the cruise line and not your travel Agent.

From what I can tell, the OP booked via a travel agent. When the travel went to do the booking there were no more cabins availible in that category. At first they only offerred a downgrade and price difference.

Later they offerred a refund.